Ty Jerome

24 hours after watching their historic season-opening win streak come to a close, Ty Jerome viewed November 20, 2024’s matchup to be a good test of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ “maturity level.” By halftime, the scoreboard left it poetically clear that Cleveland’s standout combo guard had no plans of kidding around. Like a thrilling movie continually spicing its plot, Jerome’s single-quarter 20-point heatwave took on its fiercest form at the second period’s two-minute mark, starting with a teammates’ double screen and handback pass, setting up an in-rhythm 3-pointer. Moments later, with the New Orleans Pelicans’ defense unprepared, Jerome — No. 1 in pull-up eFG% for the top-ranked Cavaliers — illustrates his gifts, calmly stepping into a triple. One flamethrower away from blowing the roof off of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Jerome uses a drag screen to clear his path for a third deep-range connection, leaving 19,432 wide-eyed and astonished. In what ultimately became a six-trifectas-in-six-minutes sequence, Jerome produced one of his career’s great games, guiding victory through 29 points (on 10-of-19 shooting), three assists, seven 3-pointers, and a game-high +28 plus-minus in 23 minutes.